DEVELOPMENT ASSESSMENT AND PLANNING
Good land management is necessary to maintain the value of our ecological assets in Queensland and Australia wide.
Any development, construction project or land clearing will normally be regulated under planning and environmental laws.
Biodiverse Environmental has a thorough understanding of environment and planning legislation in Queensland and can provide sound advice on any proposed development or project.
Biodiverse Environmental can navigate through the legislative requirements and provide you with practical environmental advice.
We can conduct ecological site assessments, flora and fauna surveys, bushfire hazard assessment and planning, and soil and land management planning advice to assist you with development applications or proposals.
Services that Biodiverse Environmental offer include:
- Assistance in applying for development applications (i.e. material change of use, reconfiguration of a lot and operational works applications assessed under the QLD Planning Act 2016)
- Applications for waterway barrier works
- Bushfire Hazard Assessment and Management Plans under Local Government Planning schemes where Bushfire Hazard Mapping triggers an assessment of the land/property
- Wetland and watercourse ground truthing, classification and mapping
- Flora and fauna surveys under the Nature Conservation Act 1992, including protected plant surveys and permits for threatened flora species under the Nature Conservation (Wildlife Management) Regulation 2006
- Clearing Impact Management Plans and Translocation Management Plans for protected plants
- Assessments of significance and referrals under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC)
- Threatened species management, including Species Management Plans for works occurring where animal breeding places may be found or where threatened species are known to be present
- Revegetation Plans for offset purposes or where removing native vegetation
- Pest Management Plans where a property has declared pest plants or pest animals under the Queensland Biosecurity Act 2014 and the Land Protection (Pest and Stock Route Management) Act 2002
PROJECTS
Below is a selection of development and assessment planning projects
Project 1
Fauna Management Plan Noosaville Development Qld – 2033
As part of the requirements for a development application in Noosaville, a Fauna Management Plan (FMP) was required in order to satisfy clearing works for the development. Due to the close proximity of the site with a pre-existing Species Management Plan due to acid frog populations, a site visit was conducted to ground truth the area. There were no ‘at risk’ species found which resulted in the SMP plan focussing primarily on potential habitat within the vegetation and surrounds. The clearing works were to be undertaken with sensitivity due to potential habitat and fauna movement with a Fauna Spotter Catcher to be engaged to manage any fauna located on site.
Project 2
Vegetation Survey of Development Area Palmwoods Qld – 2023
To assist town planners in assessing the viability of parcel of land for development, Biodiverse Environmental was engaged to undertake several vegetation surveys and provide advice on the ability to clear vegetation.
The all trees within the non-covenant area were surveyed, tagged and mapped for species and distribution. Planning scheme overlays were then assessed in terms of native vegetation and landslip potential. Native trees falling outside the mapped council layers could potentially be cleared without permit notwithstanding any other council requirements.
